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What a gorgeous weekend!

It was a glorious weekend in the mountains...spring has sprung - even up there. The daffodils are blooming, and the forsythia is ready to pop out any day now. And the deer are definitely on the move. We had 2 groups visit Friday night - 10 from the South and 5 from the North
Here are some of those northern girls....they got pretty close to the house

And here are some of the Southern girls....

And here are all 15....a little fuzzy, but you can still see them.

Jet fireworks!

The sky was so blue today, that the jet contrails looked like fireworks coming across Catherine Knob! Despite the beautiful blue sky, it is still cold and windy....not a day for being outside. We just finished watching a terrible movie "2012" - don't bother....Lee and Danny will be coming up for dinner tonight, and Tom is going to grill some chicken - YUM!

Back again!

Well, I've been pretty lax and missed most of the posting for the winter. But I'm back....



We went up last weekend, and the snow from Thursday was still around....deep enough that I had trouble getting up the driveway, and Tom had to actually stay inside and "relax".






And check out these great new wineglasses that Lynne gave us for Christmas!

My birthday and our vacation

The week before Labor Day, Tom and I spent the whole week up at the Roost. We did lots of odds and ends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Tuesday was my birthday, and we rode the Virginia Creeper Trail - a 17-mile trek (all downhill!) down an old railroad grade through the woods along a stream and over several railroad trestles. What a blast - we'll definitely be doing it again!(Don't we look spiffy.....)

The weather was gorgeous, and the dew made the grass look like snow...


One of my projects was to cover up the mantel - I've never liked it - the wood just doesn't match the fireplace.
So I sewed a runner with prairie points to cover it....What do you think?

August has arrived and so have the blackberries!

It has been a wonderful 2 weeks at the Roost - hot, but not nearly as hot as here at home!

You could see the humidity even at sunrise

The butterflies were everywhere!

We had 2 different flocks of turkeys to visit....a group of adults that frequented the backyard

And a set of babies in the front - with a bonus of a beautiful pileated woodpecker!

The zucchini that we stock in the ground as an afterthought has flourished!

And my dahlias are growing like weeds!

And I finally got a chance to pick some blackberries.
They went from this....

to this.....

to this!

And I forgot last time to take a picture of the great new napkins that my neighbor Donna brought last visit

And just as an aside...can you tell how traumatized Suzie is about having the house to herself now??????

Perfect July weekend

What a perfect weekend...beautiful sunny days and cool nights. You can't ask for more!AND....my dahlias are starting to bloom!

Sunday morning, we headed up to the Bluffs for breakfast and then some hiking/birdwatching in the picnic area. The butterflies were everywhere....

Then we walked out to the outcrop on Alligator Back to admire the view

Another great 4th!

First of all.....do you know what this is???

Tom came back from bush-hogging and made me walk out to the field to look at it. He thought it looked like some sort of WWII bomb. So what's your guess? Answer is at the bottom of this entry!On Saturday, Tom and I went geocaching in the Mount Rogers Recreational Area - what a wonderful spot! We took 16 up to Troutdale, the 603 over to Damascus. Then we got a wild hair, and took 91 down to Mountain City, TN, and 88 back to Laurel Springs. Great scenery, and we saw some really remote parts of Ashe county.
On Sunday, our neighbors, Donna and Raymond, came up with some friends of theirs from Texas. Don got right into the spirit of relaxation by giving Ellen a shoulder rub.

And Ellen found the chair that seems to make everyone smile and relax as soon as they sit down...

We took on some really intense activities like jigsaw puzzles.

And of course, we got it finished before we left. It was a real bear! (GROAN...)

And now, the answer you've all been waiting for.....
It was one of the tractor lights that had fallen off while he was bush-hogging!!!!

Birth of a storm

Tom and I were sitting on the screened porch Saturday night....it had been very hot and humid all day, but no sign of any rain. It began to cool off and blow a little bit. Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared over Catherine Knob.... We watched this storm grow and move slowly to the east. The lightening and thunder was incredible, and we were glad it was already past us when it finally blew up. It was a wonderful fireworks show for at least half an hour....There was a severe thunderstorm warning for Roaring Gap and Wilkes County on the TV - hail, wind and deadly lightning. And it all started just east of us.....

It's been a good month - Tom finally got back to his favorite activities this past weekend....spraying roses and mowing on his tractor - lopping off the thistle.

This month, I planted 267 (yes, I counted them....) Lily of the Valley bulbs along the driveway in the rhododendrons.

And my Dahlias are coming up....

And the flower barrels are enjoying all the sunshine and frequent rain!